American Idol Scandal: Season 11 Top 12 Singer Disqualified

American Idol confirmed on Wednesday night’s show that Jermaine Jones was disqualified and eliminated from Season 11. Jones’ outstanding warrants were the reason he was forced out of the competition.

Wow. This could be a crazy week on American Idol 2012 and this will be huge news for the season if true. If true. Allegedly one singer is about to be kicked off the show this week due to a history of criminal activities including violence.

The source says this Top 12 finalist has outstanding warrants for his/her arrest and concealed this information from American Idol production. Once production learned of the events they confronted this finalist and he/she was disqualified. Those events will allegedly be shown on Wednesday’s episode of American Idol.

Want to know which singer it appears to be? Read on…

Jermaine Jones was disqualified. Jones posted the following Tweet to his account earlier on Tuesday, March 3rd at 9:25PM ET.

“Awww I will no longer b on the show”

A half hour later the Tweet was deleted, but not before we captured the following screenshot from Twitter:

Shortly after that Jones retweeted the following message from one of his fans, “Well damnit, I am pissed about @JJonesAI11 being disqualified from #AmericanIdol.” For whatever reason, Jermaine seems to be okay with RT’ing a message that indicates he was kicked off, but just doesn’t want to post the “aww” message anymore as a confirmation.

Now for the grain of salt. The source is TMZ and they’re full of crap 99% of the time. Jermaine could possibly be trying to pull a prank by pretending to be the one in trouble. But if it’s true that someone was disqualified and it’s one of the other 11 finalists then I’m not sure that’d be a very funny joke to them.

We’ll continue to monitor the situation and see what we come up with. I’m sure there are more details to follow and we’ll share as soon as we find more. Be sure to join us on Facebook and you’ll get all our American Idol updates there too.

If true, do you think it’s fair to disqualify a singer for a criminal past?

Update: THR is also running the story about Jermaine Jones’ disqualification, but they’re citing TMZ as their source as well. FOX gave THR no comment, so that’s really no more confirmation of events than we had before.

Update 2: Reader Andree alerted us that Jermaine’s Twitter account @JJonesAI11 no longer exists as of this morning. I guess American Idol production didn’t take kindly to him broadcasting their big “shocking” scandal before the broadcast.

Update 3: TMZ reports that Jermaine Jones has 4 outstanding warrants, but none of them for violent offenses. “Jermaine had a total of 4 outstanding warrants … 3 for driving on a suspended license and 1 for disorderly conduct with an open container.” Pretty weak stuff. Seems like he should have been open and honest about these if the real issue is that he hid the details from Idol production.

Update 4: The Smoking Gun has obtained more details that expands that warrant count up to five for Jermaine Jones. The oldest warrant relates to a narcotics bust back in 2006 then an open container violation in 2008. His first actual arrest was in 2011 when the cops finally got him for repeatedly giving officers a false name to avoid being arrested. The longer this list gets the less inclined I am to think he didn’t earn this disqualification.

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139 Comments

As soon as I first heard/read this I suspected it was Jermaine. There is something not right about him, he appears unhinged.
If it isn’t him then I will be shocked and continue to find him ‘off’ due to this uncool prank.
I feel sorry for the other boys who missed their chance to be the 13th idol. My kids knew it would be him when he cried. Whydidn’t they give this chance to one of the dignified normal boys??

I THINK IT IS FAIR IF HE’LL BE DISQUALIFIED. NOT BECAUSE OF HIS CRIMINAL PAST BUT DUE TO THE FACT THAT HE HID THAT FROM THE AMERICAN IDOL PRODUCERS. WELL, I AM SAD FOR JERMAINE THOUGH. EVEN IF I AM NOT A FAN OF HIM. SO WE ONLY HAVE TOP 11 NOW?!

Well I don’t think someone should be disqualified for a criminal past as long as they paid their debt to society, but they should be up front about it with the shows producers in case reporters start digging into the contestants past so that the producers can be prepared for whatever questions will bring up about the said contestant. If it is Jermaine then I say no big loss there, he wasn’t going to last long anyway. If it were someone like say Jessica that got disqualified then I would be upset.

Now the question is if a contestant is disqualified then does that mean that there will be no elimination this week, or will they bring back Jeremy Rosado and still do an elimination?

I thought they would perhaps just skip an elimination, but I forgot about the usual double elimination. I think you’re suggestion is probably more what will play. I’d love to see EVERYONE stay for just one more week, (minus Jermaine of course.)

I strongly disagree about paying back debt to society. This wasn’t drunk driving and it was much worse “Possibly”. You got 12 people living under one roof all different ages. So your saying a released murderer or sex offender should be able to be on the show. You gave up a lot are your rights when you committed those crimes and this being one of them.

OMG dont assume that hes a rapist or murderer.I think that the producers on the show should maybe do some homework on these contestants.Just because a person has a criminal record,doesnt mean they should be shunned from society.Im not condoning criminal behavior either.But you cant judge something you know nothing about!!

It would depend on the severity of the crime. I know he’s not a singer but Tim Allen had done prison time, do you think he should not have been given another chance after getting out? If the crime is something like robbery and the person in question has been out of prison for a while and holding down a job and living a crime free life shouldn’t they be allowed a chance to be able to try for it. Everyone makes mistakes and as long as they pay for their mistakes then that shouldn’t be held against them for their entire life.

That being said the fact was that Jermaine wasn’t up front to Idol producers about his past, and then might have outstanding warrants is just cause for him to be disqualified.

I DID NOT SAY HE WAS ANYTHING LIKE THAT… The comment was if he served his debt to society he should be able to compete. I said that would depend on the crime. Some crimes are are paid for by doing time but THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU EARED ALL YOUR RIGHTS BACK.

If it was required when they auditioned as a question (any felonies on their record) if they lied yes they need to be disqualified. Notif they made them aware of it before hand, if they disqualify without giving the option to tell the truth then no they shouldnt disqualify you!!

how many chances do you get heck NO jeremy should not come back cuz everybody will feel sorry for him and push him in the top 10
causes someone who made it twice and he didnt they should go on tour not jeremy.

so the gentle giant is not so gentle..you know i never said this, but a former contestant from this year has a mugshot on a website i found..it appears to be a misdemeanor though….sorry for the tease, but i don’t feal comfortable saying who it was….and i am sure it was nothing…from several years ago…could have been as simple as littering..i saw no charge…but play google with your favorite former contestants..and i don’t mean anyone recently…

If that is Phil who will be disqualified for having a criminal past, I will be very very glad!!! that boy always look like having constipation every time he sings onstage. I just don’t know why. his facial expressions are not pleasant to the eyes and his voice is like grooooooowl

Hey Mary,I agree, in fact I know this is controversial but I could probably forgive any of them other than Jermaine . As I said I just find him odd and not in a good way.
And if it wasn’t him and he sent that tweet it would just prove my point further

That explains why he was shaking so much during the final cut for Top 24! It seemed like he was getting too emotionally wrapped up and involved, but he was probably so freaked out because of his past and still wanting this so bad. Well, I wish him the best!

I quite agree with u samantha. I strongly believe that people change. He might have done all that in the past even if last year and must have re-dedicated his life to Christ. He sings in the choir remember and for him to actually do that, he MUST have turned a new leaf.

Also, i think as well that A.I would like ratings to go high that is y dis info is coming in now to stir up alot of confusion.what do u think. Cause i still feel a background check should have been done before shows start airing on t.v…

Mary et al i feel u are being biased in your judgement. Its best to give benefit of doubt till proven guilty… u cant tell me you are holyier than thou

when they used johnny as a tease and then jermaine came walking out..i felt betrayed and played. i am not sure they can bring johnny back, but i think he was a much better contestant than jermaine. jermaine is odd.

Salv that did seem strange..he was one of the best and then we did not hear anything..wonder if he made someone mad…he seemed like he was getting a little cocky..but not sure…someone posted in here they met him at a local florida ballgame where he sang the national anthem and he was very friendly.

This is what makes me so angry. All of you in here throwing stones. Guess all of you are perfect and have never made a mistake! HOPEFULLY THIS IS A tmz JOKE. Who is to know that Jermaine is trying to turn his life around. Everyone deserves a second chance! Look at all the artist that have drug charges, assalt charges, etc. and still record and make music. Put yourselves in his shoes…what if this was you….would you think you deserved another chance!!!!!!!!

Well, nobody is saying that he cannot perform or record music. If it is him, Idol would just be saying that he doesn’t meet their qualifications. The performers you say record music yet they have criminal records were able to get hired by companies who didn’t have standards as high as Idol’s; which is fine. So it really has nothing at all to do with second chances.

I think everyone should have a second chance after committing a crime. The list is very long of those that have. But, American Idol is presenting itself as with singers who are all American. And I don’t think having people who lie about having a violent criminal record, fits that image. So, I have to side with the high moral standards American Idol wants of theier singers, if that is their choice.

I don’t think people don’t deserve second chances and as I’ve said a few times if it was anyone else I wouldn’t care. Let’s face it this is not just a singing competition or we wouldn’t get back stories or behind the scenes. I think the guy is strange and he makes me nervous regardless of his history.

The point of idol is exactly that… Do you think people should be “idolizing” someone with an Allred violent criminal past? And if he has turned his life around why wasn’t he just honest about his past? Everyone loves a good triumphs over evil story… And if he does have active warrants and lied about his identity, then he should be disqualified to return home to face those charges.

It isn’t because he has a criminal past, it’s that he lied about it. Example during season 4 it was discovered that Bo Bice had a record for drug possessions a few years before he was on the show he wasn’t disqualified because he had told the producers about it before hand. If what is being said is true that Jermaine is being disqualified because he wasn’t up front with a criminal past then no he shouldn’t be disqualified because he has a criminal past, but because he lied about it.

Hi Shawn,
I agree! A criminal past which has been dealt with and rectified should not be a critical point of disqualification, but hiding it and or lying about it should. So I am glad Idol has done something because if this
is not addressed now it will look worst for the producers of the show later.

I smell something bad here though. You would think with all of their resources that they only found out about this record now?? Especially when they decided to bring him back as awild card? It only takes less than a few hours to do a criminal check backkground on anyone.

It makes me wonder why this is not being done before the final 24 starts, unless of course they wanted this to happen all along as a mere publicity stunt, I don’t think the producers will go that low? uhmm would they??

Matt how accurate is this latest news?? thanks!

And no, please they should not bring anyone back anymore. The 11 will do fine. What I suggest as a surprise treat to the 11 finalist is not send someone home this week, but don’t tell them until the elimination night. 😀

Marty, I do agree with you, but the AI twitter and Idol insider said that there was SOMEONE getting eliminated, and there are at least 250 sources saying that Jermaine is the one. Whatever happens, happens, but we’ll have to see.

He deserves to be disqualified if he lied to Idol when asked about a criminal record. Apparently A.I. wants contestants with a clean slate (as they have the right to do) and he knew that he would not be accepted if they found out. Of course this is all assuming that he is the one who will be leaving the show. Certainly it could just as easily be one of he other contestants.

well, that reminds me of one of the girl contestant. she lives in a tent in a jungle or something. she also has criminal record. i think for that reason they cut her. of course they say it’s because of the voice wasn’t so goog, etc. but, who knows, right?

IF this is true, the what took the authorities so long to do something about it?? does this person get busted on the show during a performance, thus enhancing the ratings?? or do we wait until the lights are dimmed tomorrow night?? AND are we sure this is idol and not america’s most wanted?? seriously, the problem lies in LYING and not what he/she did in the past. closet skeletons eventually do come out to bite you in the butt.

hey, did you guys search for Jermaine ‘s twitter account. it isn’t exist anymore. i think they deleted it or something. so, it’s confirmed he left the show i guess…
wonder what they’ll do at tomorrow show. can’t wait.

I think it’s true. TMZ has been pretty spot on with their information Matt. They were the first to break the news of MJ’s death and WH. They have pretty good sources. I will be surprised if in fact they reported it and it’s not true. After all Harvey is a lawyer…LOL.

Oh wow! The dad called TMZ! What a low life! How could he do that to his own son? That just seems unthinkable to me. Wow I guess all kinds of people exist in this world. I just don’t understand how a father could be so cut throat with his own child.

If the criminal allegations are true Jermaine needs to go. I agree with that. But I just don’t see how a father could live with the fact that he basically ruined his own child’s chance at a good life. Especially when he didn’t man up and provide for him the way he should. There may be some more violence in Jermaine’s future. If I were his dad I’d go into hiding right now. I wouldn’t want Jermaine pissed at me.

you would think idol would do a background check early on, like before going to hollywood. since the adults share rooms, it would be nice to know your roommate was not a felon or had warrants. cowboy just doesn’t know how close he came to being assaulted.

It is official jermaine will not perform tonight his twitter is deleted.
he is now longer part of american idol.
so maybe we will see a new wild card or maybe we will see the top 10 this week.
if its is another wildcard will it be jen or brielle or reed

well this is the start of american idol contestant scandals.
next week phillip will have cheated someone out of money.
heejun will have nude photos of him “Ewwwwwwwwww”
colton “will have said a bad word before”
good gosh will they just look before they make it to the top 12.
this makes amerian idol look like fools.
but come on if they kick off everybody then who will win.

I think that if this true they should not vote anyone off this week or ask jeremy to return and sing and then vote someone off. Am I not correct. That is just my input. Like anyone will take my input to head or serious. Lol

Hi Lucile,
If I were Jeremy , I’ll turn down the offer. It is not Idol itself that eliminated Jeremy but the fans that did not vote for him. To be kicked out of competition for the 3rd time is a career killer!! Talk about self esteem and confidence. The fans will vote him off just to prove a point whether he was the best singer or not. Just saying………………

Also how do we know who Jermaine’s voters would have voted for if Jermaine weren’t there. They may have not voted at all. No way to fix it now. They just need to move on. And I am not sure they can eliminate a contestant this week and still stay on schedule unless they had a double elimination scheduled for a later show and they can change that to a single elimination. Do you think they have plans in place ahead of time for the possibility of this happening?

Well I think a past depending on what the past criminal history is of course should not be enough for DQ… BUT… being dishonest is not the best route to go either and IF he does have outstanding warrants that could cause a interuption in the show at a later date then It,s for the best he be removed now before it gets deep into the season……GO JESSICA !!!!

Wow Jermaine..when I heard someone has an outstanding warrant,he is the first on my mind coz he is most likely than other contestants. I don’t think they should bring anyone back.. It makes the show unprofessional and indecisive. They should go on with elimination so they can skip double elimination afterwards which is always so sad.

I don’t think he should get kicked off because of his past. People CAN CHANGE and we all need second and third chances in our lives. On the other hand I don’t think that he is that great of a singer, how about the singing drummer! He should be in the top 10 !

dont bring anyone back they could cause someone who made it to the top 10 fair and square not to make it. come on this is not what should happen just kick jermaine off tomorrow. and dont kick anybody else off.
maybe have another girl vs boy round and just kick off jermaine.
dont bring back fat ass jeremy. or reed
if they have to bring back someone bring back brielle she should have made it as a wildcard anyway.

You know what this is taking away from tonight performaces unfair to the people who are singing tonight so im done with this posting.
just one more thing.
ifthey bring back someone they should let us vote for them.

If the rumors are true, then Idol needs to stand by its rules and policies and disqualify Jermaine, who in reality didn’t make the top 24 and was brought back as an “extra” in the first place. It is a family show, and the contestants are mixed ages, including minors, and the fans are impressionable, and you need someone headed toward the win that they can look up to, someone who has a positive past, has made good choices in life, has good energy, takes criticism well. Wait, I’ve got it: BRING BACK REED GRIMM!!! That young man is, as Randy would say, “mad talented, dawg!” Plus he is gifted enough and generous enough to be helpful to other contestants, genuine, gracious, good looking yet quirky, and entertaining as all get out. BRING BACK REED GRIMM!!!! American Idol 2012 won’t regret it!

”
If true, do you think it’s fair to disqualify a singer for a criminal past?” Heck yes it is. If part of the application process is to disclose arrests, he lied. The real shame is, his being there means other talented singers were denied a shot.

I was just checking what theme week it would be, when I read about this. I’m not going to judge jermine, no one is perfect. It’s a fair call for not being up front about your past. He had a chance to do something great. Maby next season, idol should do background checks, on the top 40. Before, they pick the top 24. Can’t wait to see how this plays out

Jermaine used deceit to claim a spot in the Top 13 that should have gone to someone else. I would bring back Reed, Jen, and Brielle in a sing-for-a-second-chance sing off. America could vote on the remaining eleven and vote one off. And they could vote on the three, and vote one on.
Take lemons and make lemonade.

Yo WBormann74. People that think like you are the reason media controls our world. Who the heck said anything about Jermaine being a sex offender or a murderer. Talk about sensationalizing! If he lied to the Producers than he should be off. If he has outstanding warrants than yep – he should probably go too. But before you go judging someone based on something you know nothing about…..jeez…you’re scarier than he is

What disappoints me is. Jeremy’s voice was okay nothing great but the
panel felt because he was a good kid and very polite he should stay,
this isn’t about your personality its about your voice, second they felt
sorry for the big guy, awww bull his voice is nothing compared to the
people who didn’t make it, so they bring him back grrr. and now this
story his father has been in his life all along boo hooo dry up the
tears again this kept someone else from being in the top 12.. lets get
it together panel and set aside your feeling because of someone life or
because they cry…

fox missed an opportunity..they could have had the folks from COPS come over and film jermaine being dragged off…do they still film Cops? maybe america’s most wanted could have run his profile first…what’s going on with this show? they didn’t know he had active warrants..what do they do to check these people out?

Sorry to hear this but if it is confirmed, I totally agree the disqualification, it would be unfair to all the other honest people to loose the first place to someone who is not honest, and maybe have a criminal background. At least now we know that American Idol is fair for the good.

I’m very sorry to see Jermaine disqualified. None of his “outstanding warrants” seem to be for any crimes of significance. I think the producers are just protecting their butts from any potential scandal.
And for those of you who think Jermaine deserves to have his entire future blow up (and he is a FANTASTIC singer) then perhaps you should lookback into the “past” of just a few of Hollywood’s most famous…
Mike Tyson beat his wife.
Halle Berry was convicted in a hit and run accident.
Tim Allen was imprisoned for possession of cocaine.
And Matthew Broderick was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter in the drunk driving accident that killed a mother and daughter in 1987.
And nobody made him stop being “Ferris Bueller”.
There have been so many “stars” that were either involved in or convicted of much worse, and they weren’t forced to give up on themselves on TV.
I think Jermaine got a bum deal.
And I think we all lost out on a great singer.

Well…….who are you guys throwing stones at tonight? I hope and pray that Jermaine gets a record and goes on to sell millions of records. God takes these exact kind of things and turns them out for HIS GLORY. God Bless Jermaine!

I FEEL THAT A PERSON SHOULDN’T BE DISQUILIFIED FOR HIS PAST IF HE OR SHE HAS PAID THEIR DUES AND IS UPFRONT WITH THE EXCECUTIVES RIGHT FROM THE START. I THOUGHT THYAT THERE WAS SOMETHING A LITTLE WRONG WITH HIM FROM THE GET GO….HE ALWAYS HAD THIS SCARED LOOK ON HIS FACE! HOWEVER I THINK THAT IT WAS WRONG OF THEM TO PUT IT ON TV THE WAY THAT THEY DID! THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO PUT THE WHOLE CONVERSATION RIGHT ON IN THE MIDDE OF THE SHOW LIKE THAT! I THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE JUST SAID,THAT JERMAINE WAS DISQUILIFIED FOR AN UNDISCLOSED REASON OR SOMETHING ALONG THAT LINE. THEY SHOULD HAVE LET THE REASON COME OUT LATER ON IN THE NEWS OR SOMETHING
.

I would agree with Marty. But never mind God. Jermaine has a great voice. Period. His smooth baritone voice is a welcome change in this cookie-cutter pop industry, and I would certainly buy one of his records.

I’m extremely upset, discussed and dispointed with American Idol, Broad Casting Jermaine Jones disqualification on tonights episode. I am dum founded as to what that proved. Was it nessesary to broad cast that on National TV?????? I don”t know Jermaine, this is just someone sitting here going REALLY was that nessesary, Jermaine is extremely talented and I hope he is able to take care of the past and he can have an amazing future.

If someone has commited an offence then the police or court system should deal with it. If it`s not murder or pimping or something and the guy had expressed regrets then I don`t see the problem. Just think what message it sends, If you made a mistake in your life and are trying to turn it around though developing your talent, AI says you don`t deserve the chance to improve yourself and move on. Not sure it`s a great message to send out. With regard to Jermaine, he may be a bit weird, but hey, that`s not a crime, if it was then Stephen Tyler would`nt be on the show.